People just like you and me have caused a huge biodiversity crisis, pushing many species to the brink of extinction and beyond. Doing something about this is one of the most important and urgent problems globally.

We are a group of researchers headed by Richard Fuller and based at the University of Queensland in Brisbane. We are studying how people have affected the natural world around them, and how some of their destructive effects can best be reversed. On the flip side, we are also keen to understand whether and how people can benefit positively from experiences of biodiversity.

To answer these questions we work on pure and applied topics in biodiversity and conservation, spanning the fields of conservation planning, conservation psychology and urban ecology. Much of our work is interdisciplinary, focusing on the interactions between people and nature, how these can be enhanced, and how these relationships can be shaped to converge on coherent solutions to the biodiversity crisis.

Formed in January 2010, we are a young and rapidly growing lab, publishing in high quality journals including Nature, Science, PLoS Biology, TREE, Proceedings B etc. Have a browse through the website to get a feel for the kind of work we do.

The extirpation of species outside protected areas Boakes EH, Fuller RA & McGowan PJK (in press) The extirpation of species outside protected areas. Conservation Letters.
Protected areas (PAs) are fundamental to conservation efforts but they are only part of a successful conservation strategy. We…